Adventures in vegan eats and feats

Sticky date pudding (GF + V)

The other day I asked for suggestions for stuff to make, because my brain is kind of on auto-pilot at the moment. Enter sticky date pudding! Not quite traditional in looks, but it hits the spot and does so with natural ingredients and NO added processed sugar. I can’t say whether I enjoy the muffin-sized cakes or the sauce more, so let’s just say that together they work magic.

I must admit I’m kind of a sugar junkie. I prefer natural sugars, through bananas and what not, but sometimes the ol’ body cries out for dessert. I’ve gotten pretty sick of jelly though, so this suggestion came right on time!I quite like single-serving desserts – as in, you make them as you would eat them, because as much as I’m an advocate for indulgence it’s perhaps best to set boundaries when you have a serious relationship with sugar or other tasty things. These things are ridiculously healthy though, so the muffin tin was used mainly for convenience of packing decadent lunches, which we all deserve! I baked like a beast today, including quiche, falafel, dumpling stew (coming soon!), and other delights. Since we’re trying to conserve funds it’s apparent that making things from scratch is infinitely cheaper and much more satisfying (at least to me). This week’s project is to get back into making more freezer treats to keep around and sate the weekday sweet tooth that usually demands its share of chocolate or what not. Which, fair enough. After all, there are so many delightful studies out at the moment showing that some dark chocolate a day keeps the blues at bay or some such, and I’m all for such wizardry.

Ingredients (makes 6 muffin-sized portions):

1 cup soaked dates

1 cup soaking water

2 tsp vanilla

5 TBSP aquafaba

2 TBSP apple cider vinegar

pinch salt

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 cup brown rice flour

Sauce:

3/4 cup dates

3/4 cup soaking water

1/8 cup water

1/8 cup soy milk

pinch salt

1 TBSP tahini (sub for any other neutral nut butter such as almond or macadamia – PB will overpower the taste)

How-to:

Preheat oven to 180C and spray muffin pans (I used mega ones for a wider base).

Blend dates, soaking water, vanilla and aquafaba until smooth.

Pour into a bowl with premixed dry ingredients and mix til just combined.

Scoop into 6 muffin pans.

Bake for 25 – 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, blend sauce ingredients until smooth.

Let the pudding cakes cool for a few minutes then gently remove with a large spoon.

Poke holes into the pudding cakes and pour the sauce over.

Serve warm.

This sauce… so much goodness in one place! Admittedly the recipe makes way more sauce than I guess one actually needs but that’s tough. If there is such a thing as “leftover” sauce, then use it in smoothies or stir it into an espresso or mug of coffee for deliciousness. Spread on toast…drizzled over caramelized bananas…mixed into ice-cream…yep. In fact, it’s best to have a stock of this super easy sauce in the fridge just in case of emergencies (if munchies also constitute as emergencies in your household, as they do in ours).I got to use some leftover aquafaba for this, since I also made hummus, and it just adds a magical, soft quality to the dough and helps to both keep it light and bind the GF flours, of which the brown rice flour is notoriously crumbly. Any excuse to use it in something other than meringues is welcome! Not that I’m dissing the meringues, because they are the joy of this year’s culinary discoveries, but still.Anyhow, it seems as if I might possibly have only one week left to work at the school, and then some odd days of library duty, so that leaves more time than I’ve had in a very long time to plot for holiday treats and munchies. Luckily the blogging world makes me feel safe in that I’m not the only crazy planning ahead, since most have just finished a trial run with Thanksgiving and have twitchy (if exhausted) fingers. My resolution (as it is every year, with varying degrees of success) is not to get bogged down by holiday chores or expectations and to just enjoy an actual holiday before the madness that is next year. That seems a bit much to ask, considering the faff and hoopla that circles December like a kettle of vultures.

Speaking of scavengers, Gatsby came sprinting across the yard once he spotted me in the photo room.

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Ahoy, I’m Margaux! History teacher and freelance editor; wench to my Man-thing; volunteer at a cat shelter; and handmaiden to our kitsy cats, Gatsby, Freyja and Atlas. This blog is dedicated to vegan food, occasionally overthrown by pictures of foster kittens and other fluffy creatures. I love sharing ideas and recipes, so don't be shy: stop by and say hi!